Connections Hints

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — February 4, 2026

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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid

All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.

APPROX
BINGO
BOUT
BULLSEYE
CONFLICT
CRAPS
DISCORD
FRICTION
HEATED
LIKE
LOTTERY
MAGICAL
NETSCAPE
RIVALRY
ROUND
WAR
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Themes

The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.

CONTENTIONStraightforward
GAMES OF CHANCEModerate
MORE OR LESS, COLLOQUIALLYTricky
STARTING WITH NBA TEAMSDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

CONTENTIONStraightforward
THESE WORDS ALL DESCRIBE A STATE OF STRUGGLE OR OPPOSITION BETWEEN PARTIES+ 3 more…
GAMES OF CHANCEModerate
THESE ARE ALL ACTIVITIES WHERE LUCK DETERMINES THE WINNER+ 3 more…
MORE OR LESS, COLLOQUIALLYTricky
INFORMAL WORDS MEANING APPROXIMATELY OR AROUND A CERTAIN AMOUNT+ 3 more…
STARTING WITH NBA TEAMSDevious
EACH WORD CONTAINS THE NAME OF AN NBA TEAM HIDDEN AT THE START+ 3 more…
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Full solution
CONTENTIONStraightforward
CONFLICT,DISCORD,FRICTION,RIVALRY

CONFLICT, DISCORD, FRICTION, and RIVALRY are all synonyms for contention — a state of dispute or competitive struggle

GAMES OF CHANCEModerate
BINGO,CRAPS,LOTTERY,WAR

BINGO, CRAPS, LOTTERY, and WAR are all games whose outcomes depend primarily on chance rather than strategy

MORE OR LESS, COLLOQUIALLYTricky
APPROX,BOUT,LIKE,ROUND

APPROX, BOUT, LIKE, and ROUND are all colloquial ways of saying 'more or less' or 'approximately,' as in 'like ten minutes' or 'round a hundred'

STARTING WITH NBA TEAMSDevious
BULLSEYE,HEATED,MAGICAL,NETSCAPE

BULLSEYE starts with BULLS, HEATED starts with HEAT, MAGICAL starts with MAGIC, and NETSCAPE starts with NETS — all NBA team names

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